


Patrol

by Glitched_Fox



Series: The New Squidbeak Splatoon (and Associates) [2]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Minor Injuries, Nonbinary Character, OKAY WELL. IT'S MENTIONED THAT three got glass in her hands and idk how to tag that but its there., Post-Canon, Self-Esteem Issues, literally takes place like. an hour or two after the end of octo expansion, they jus kinda talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27231976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitched_Fox/pseuds/Glitched_Fox
Summary: Upon arriving at Inkopolis, Agent 3 disappears yet again with nothing more than a muttered excuse to the captain. After managing to wiggle away from the chaotic reunion of the Splatoon, Agent 8 pushes aside their own exhaustion and goes to find her.
Relationships: Agent 3 & Agent 8 (Splatoon)
Series: The New Squidbeak Splatoon (and Associates) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988203
Kudos: 14





	Patrol

Eight wasn't sure how to approach Three.

Eight had been told to be cautious as to not alarm the more experienced agent. Still, it wasn't much instruction. Luckily for them, they were awfully good at working with limited instruction.

This place was strange. The warp kettle Eight went through to get here, the floating platforms, inactive flooders, and shifting walls were blatant Octarian tech, albeit abandoned. It didn't make much sense to Eight as to why Three would come here. The place was nothing special. Honestly, Eight was surprised these platforms were still floating. Without power, a lot of Octarian areas had been falling apart. 

They spotted Three pacing along the edge of the main platform, just down a ramp from where Eight had landed. They approached slowly, first aid kit tucked under their arm, then stopped—closer, but still a good distance away—and waited for Three to notice them first. It didn't take very long. She glanced at them briefly, eyebrows raising in momentary surprise, then looked away again, seeming… annoyed? Eight wasn’t very good at reading emotions, and Three’s muted expressions didn’t make it any easier.

Once they were sure Three had registered their presence and therefore wouldn't shoot them, Eight moved forward and fell into step on Three's left. "I was wondering where you went," Eight said, after a moment. "You have… been gone for a while, now."

Three didn't respond, just barely tilting their head in acknowledgement of the Octoling's words. She spun on her heel as she reached the end of their path, cape flaring as they turned to walk the other way. Eight hesitated, looking around. "Nothing is here, is there? The captain said you were—uhm." They hissed, tapping the side of their head. "Hold on. I forgot the word."

Three stopped walking to look over their shoulder at Eight. "...Patrol," she said, when Eight still failed to come up with anything. "I told him I was going on patrol." Her voice was scratchy from disuse, and she poked her tongue out a bit once she finished talking, as if it felt weird. Eight perked up, delighted they'd gotten a reply.

"Yes, that. Thank you."

"I didn't think you'd speak Inkling."

"Ah, not very. I'm learning. Remembering."

"You're doing pretty well, in that case. I understand Octarian, though, if you're more comfortable…"

"Oh? Oh!" They grinned at her, slipping into their native language. "I should've guessed. The captain spoke to me in it in the metro. Did he teach you?"

Three nodded. 

"I think the language has changed a bit from what he knows, but it's decipherable enough, isn't it? There's enough context clues." Eight waved their hand dismissively. "But I digress. The other agents were asking about you and I didn't know what to tell them. The captain's granddaughters—I can't believe they're the original agents and the Squid Sisters. Such a claim to fame, huh?" 

"They were asking about me?" Three questioned, voice even smaller then before. Her Octarian was a bit shaky with the accent, but Eight wasn't about to get on her case about it. She already seemed vulnerable, pacing around out here.

"Yeah. Apparently, the captain checked in with them, but they never saw you. Basically the first thing Marie asked me was whether or not I'd seen you… they wanted to come after you on their own, but Marina and Pearl are catching them up on what happened, and they knew you could handle yourself for just a little bit. So they're kinda busy. But they've been worried sick about you since you disappeared."

Three was silent for a minute, staring off into a distance. For a moment, Eight wondered if they'd made a mistake somewhere, but finally Three looked back at them. “...Is that first aid kit for me?”

"I thought you might need it.” Eight had grabbed it mostly as an afterthought on their way to the kettle, really, but they were happy they did. Aside from the bandages wrapped over Three's right eye and side of her head, it didn’t look like she’d done much to have done much to fix herself up before ditching to go on "patrol." Eight could see ink still dripping from under the tears in Three'd clothing.

"Why'd you come up here? I knew someone would come after me, but I wasn't expecting you," Three said, as the two sat down. "People hate it up here—most Inklings aren’t fond of heights. It's why it's my alone spot."

"Sorry. Do you want me to leave?"

Three considered it for a moment. Her hands shook as she opened the little box. "No," she decided. "Stay. Please."

"Okay." Eight leaned back, looking up at the sky. "Well, to answer your question… the captain told me I could find you here, and… I don't know. I was worried about you, too, I think."

"You don't even know me."

“I’d like to get to, if you’d let me.”

Three looked up from the band-aid she was struggling to open. Her expression was unreadable. Eventually, she looked away again, back to picking at the paper covering.

“Besides,” Eight continued, “you can want to help someone even if you don’t know them. You saved my life, after all.” They motioned to the first aid kit. “This is the least I can do.”

“...Thanks.”

Eight smiled. Three was still trying to open the same band-aid. “Do you want help with that?” they asked, cautiously. 

Three hesitated, then nodded slowly. She looked away, but held out the band-aid to Eight anyway, biting her lip. Eight was about to take it when something else caught her eye. “There’s glass in your hand, Agent 3.”

“Yeah…” Three winced. “I picked out all the big pieces, but I couldn’t get the rest.”

Eight thought about using their claws as makeshift tweezers, but decided it would be safer to wait until Three returned to her friends. Then they could help her, like they helped Eight. She opened the band-aid quickly, peeling off the paper backing. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

“I can’t feel much of anything,” Three admitted. She rolled up her sleeve, and Eight placed the band-aid over a still-bleeding cut. “My entire body is sorta… numb.”

“Oh.” Eight tilted their head, smiling nervously. “I was like that for a while, but now everything just hurts.”

“Right. That stupid phone got to you pretty bad too, huh?”

Eight thought about how bad their back burned. They reached up, touching the similar wound on their face—when Three was brainwashed by said ‘stupid phone’, she’d gotten a pretty good shot or ten on Eight. They sorta hoped none of it scarred. Three already had guilt in her eyes as she glanced at the cyan wounds.

“I’m so sorry,” Three whispered.

“It’s alright,” Eight reassurred her. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Sorry for trying to kill you that first time too,” Three added, drawing her knees up to her chest. Eight opened another band-aid, and Three rolled up her other sleeve obediently.

“It’s alright,” Eight repeated. They opened another band-aid and pressed it over another of Three’s scrapes. “You were just following orders.” After a moment’s hesitation, they added, “I was too. We’re even.”

Three pulled her arm back, examining the band-aid. It was bright pink, decorated with little cartoon creatures that Eight didn’t know. “...Right. Even.”

Eight smiled at Three, but she didn’t look up this time, lost in her thoughts as she traced unconscious patterns on her arm. Eight watched idly, though their own mind was blank. Now that they were taking a moment to relax, the dull ache in their limbs hurt a little bit more. The burns from sanitized ink on their back and face and hands felt like they were searing again. They realized, suddenly, they were _exhausted._

Three reached up, lightly touching the bandages over her eye. “I think I want to go back down, now,” she said, quietly. “I don’t want to worry the others anymore than I already have.”

Eight nodded. It took a good amount of effort, but they managed to stand up and not immediately collapse. Three struggled with the clasps on the first aid kit and stood up on equally shaky footing once she got it closed. Eight took the kit from her, leaving her with just her hero shot to clutch to her chest. Neither moved or said a word for a second.

“Thanks,” said Three, finally. “I would’ve come down on my own eventually, but… it’s nice to have reassurance.”

“I understand.” Eight tilted their head, giving their newfound friend a tired smile. “I’m Agent 8, by the way. I just realized we never had any proper introductions to each other.”

Three blinked as she absorbed the information, then nodded firmly. “Agent 3. Nice t’ meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading!! comments are appreciated <3


End file.
